Local

Service at ground zero reaffirms faith

By ANDIE LEATHERMAN, LTN Staff Writer

Jan. 16, 2002 - LINCOLNTN — In the late 1960s Linconlto’s  Granville Angell was flying a Medic helicopter in Vietnam, risking his life to save others. He learned about post-traumatic stress and survivor guilt first hand, taking that knowledge with him when he trained as a counselor.

Over the ensuing decades, Angell began coming to terms with what he experienced. Last month, he came full circle, using the hard earned wisdom to counsel police, firefighters and construction workers cleaning up and recovering their own at what was once the World Trade Center.

“I felt like I had no choice,” Angell said. “I had to go.”

Angell left his own practice, Transitions Counseling, to spend two weeks volunteering with the American Red Cross at the Ground Zero Respite Center.

He and other counselors ate with workers who visited the giant blue respite tent for meals. Sometimes, meals turned into informal group therapy sessions.

Other times, counselors talked with individuals. Angell also delivered water and other refreshments to workers in an area known as “the pit.”

“It was an opportunity for them to open up.”

Many needed support in getting through grueling hours spent sorting through the ruined buildings.

“The destruction was devastating. It weighs on everybody in a way that cannot be described.”

Angell said media reports cannot capture what happened. Even surrounding buildings were damaged.

Many workers would tell Angell about family conflicts over the time and emotional energy they were spending on recovery efforts.

The work to find the missing and clean up the destruction has not stopped since shortly after the attacks. Neither have the efforts to help those doing the work. Angell, like many counselors, spent one week of his two week tour, working through the night.

He listened as police and firefighters questioned why they survived while their peers did not.

The Vietnam veteran often shared his experiences with the workers, creating a quick bond. Angell, whose Army chopper was shot down more than once, describes combat as a time of action, not reflection.

“You put your head down and run. You can’t let emotions overcome the task,” he said.

That immediate survival mechanism can cause problems if it continues past the crisis.

“People stuff things inside. It can be particularly damaging if it accumulates over time,” he said.

Angell’s mission was to get workers to talk then, sparing them problems later.

While he was in New York, construction crews were sifting through the ground floor where many emergency workers were found.

“They were finding their own.”

Some were even searching for family. Angell talked with one exhausted, veteran fire fighter who hoped to find the body of his son, also a firefighter.

Another firefighter was at the scene when his son’s body was recovered. The man individually thanked all the workers lined up along a makeshift road.

Emergency workers would stand as the bodies of their fallen comrades were placed on the back of a modified four-wheeler and driven to a waiting ambulance. The bodies were wrapped in American flags.

In the midst of the profound destruction, human and spiritual goodness was still evident, Angell said.

The iron fence surrounding nearby St. Paul’s Church became a memorial. Cards, banners, flags and votive candles paid tribute.

“You can’t get through two or three of those without completely choking up.”

The inside of the church was closed to the public and became a sanctuary for workers. Many sought out the small chapel for prayer and meditation, including Angell.

“I have never felt the presence of spirit so strongly as in that church.”

Though Red Cross workers were not allowed to wear their identifying vests off duty, they were still recognizable to the locals. Many expressed their appreciation for the nation’s support.

“It reaffirmed my faith most people are good,” Angell said. “You have to trust goodness and humanity will prevail despite small pockets of unspeakable violence and evil.”

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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